Culcha Vulcha is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on April 29, 2016. The album includes performances by a number of musicians associated with the band and called "the Fam".Nate Chinen, "Snarky Puppy: A House Built on Solid Funk" , The New York Times, February 5, 2016. The band's first studio album in eight years since Bring Us the Bright, it was recorded at the Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas near El Paso and Atlantic Sound Studios in Brooklyn, New York, by Nic Hard."Snarky Puppy Releasing New LP 'Culcha Vulcha' April 29th" , Glide Magazine, April 8, 2016.Kristel Latecki, "Snarky Puppy; 'Música para el cerebro y el trasero' , El Observador (Uruguay), March 8, 2016 (in Spanish).
Reception Culcha Vulcha received moderate praise upon release, with NPR extolling the "core sonic idea [of Culcha Vulcha], it's an intricate melody over a multifaceted groove...It gathers ideas openly and avidly from all over the world". John Fordham of The Guardian remarked that "Jazzers might still balk at the high-concept planning, but it's remarkable how much polish has been applied without cramping the band's irrepressible creative energy."
Culcha Vulcha also received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2016. In a release on social media, the band offered thanks, saying, "It's the first time that we've been awarded a Grammy for an album that represents who we are (99 percent) of the time—just us, without special guests, playing our own music."
Track listing Source+
Personnel Source+ Michael League – electric bass guitar, Moog Sub Phatty, nylon-string guitar, Mellotron, acoustic bass, Moog bass, piccolo bass, ukulele bass, baritone guitar, handclaps Bob Lanzetti – electric & acoustic guitars Mark Lettieri – electric & acoustic guitars, baritone guitar, Hammertone guitar Chris McQueen – electric & acoustic guitars Zach Brock – violin Cory Henry – clavinet, organ, Mellotron, Omni, Moog, piano Bill Laurance – Fender Rhodes, piano, Synthex, Moog bass, clavinet Shaun Martin – vocoder & talkbox Bobby Sparks – clavinet, Minimoog, Moog bass Justin Stanton – piano, Fender Rhodes, Omni, Prophet 6, Moog, Synthex. Arp Axxe Jay Jennings – trumpet, flugelhorn Mike 'Maz' Maher – trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals Chris Bullock – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, keyboards Bob Reynolds – tenor saxophone Larnell Lewis – drum set Robert "Sput" Searight – drum set Jason 'J.T.' Thomas – drum set – percussion: timbal, repenque, kanjira, caixa, congas, talking drum, kalimbas, handclaps Nate Werth – percussion: trap set, floor tom, cowbells, chimes, caixa, tambourine, congas, shaker, angklung, handclaps Marcelo Woloski – percussion: djembe, shakers, surdo, triangle, caixa, angklung, tang-tang, reco-cowbell, daf, bombo legüero, donkey jaw, kalimba, effects, handclaps
Charts Chart (2016) Peak position
References